Leading with Influence

Posted on 02/15/2013 in Influence Skills

Leading with Influence

Everyone has a natural style of influence. Truly effective influence doesn't just happen! So how do you get people to buy into your ideas? Being able to accurately read situations, individuals and groups, and applying the appropriate type of influence behavior are key to becoming successful at influencing.

Influence is the ability to have others take a desired action while building and maintaining the relationship. To be successful, the ability to influence others over whom you have not direct control is a must.

Everyone should assess their own personal influence style. Once a person is conscious of his or her style they are able to vary it depending on the situation. This allows them to become more effective in accomplishing their goals and the goals of the team. If you are curious about your own influence style, please contact us about our electronic influence self survey.

Successful influencers set themselves apart in four ways:

Learn as much as you can about the people you want to influence. Ask well-designed questions to get a sense of what issues your peers and counterparts believe are important and must be addressed. Use this information to tailor the presentation of your ideas as potential solutions that address those issues.

Emphasize common goals, enthusiasm and excitement to build a relationship with your coworkers, rather than just arguing reasons and data. This strategy is very effective when working on teams because it helps bring people together to focus on problem solving.

Involve others in your plans. Ask questions about what your colleagues are thinking. Listen to their responses and incorporate their ideas and needs into your solution.

Map out your goals and select a strategy that will be effective in influencing the other people involved. Think about your contingency plan in case your first attempt is not effective.

Always remember the importance of maintaining the relationship by using positive forms of influence!

The Influence Skills workshop is one of STAR's most popular and can be customzed for customer service personnel, salespeople and sales management..